Among the Ash Heaps and Millionaires...

The Great Gatsby is my favorite book of the reading list, so far. There’s so much going on, and it gets you hanging on, waiting for the next thing. It was pleasantly fiction, at least more so than The Grapes of Wrath, and a little easier to read. I thought the characters of The Great Gatsby were all great in themselves. The author did a fantastic job in bringing them to life, even some of the minor characters. In fact, everything he described he brought into sharp focus, which really helped to get me into the book.

A constant theme I noticed in this book was the ideals of the wealthy social classes. Whether it’s of old aristocracy like the Buchanan’s, or of newly found success like Gatsby, the wealthy always seemed a bit careless. Gatsby was ostentatious, owning expensive and extravagant things, mostly just for the sake of showing them off. The Buchanan’s had elegance and good taste, but they had a tendency of being heartless and inconsiderate. This is shown through all their various affairs, including moving away after Gatsby’s death and not attending his funeral. Gatsby at least had some sincerity and loyalty; he once stood outside Daisy’s window just to be sure she was alright. But no matter what, the upper class folk always seem to think that they get whatever they want just because they have money and the influence of money. I find this concept a frustrating one, and agree with Nick in calling them “hollow”, as they have this whole image built up on the outside, yet barely anything is to be found on the inside.

I think I liked the character of Nick Carraway best, because I can relate to him best. He considers himself honest, slow to judge, and isn’t impressed with people just because they have a lot of money, but can look deeper than that. However, the most interesting character I found in the book was, hands down, Jay Gatsby. The first image I built of him in the beginning of the book differs greatly from the image I have after finishing his story. He seemed mysterious, gentle, and reserved at first glance. Then, as the story unfolded, so did Gatsby’s true character. He slowly became a passionate, lovesick, idealistic, naïve dreamer, who a lot of things, but only ever wanted the woman he loved. Ever since he left Daisy, he never stopped thinking about her, never gave up on the idea of her, even after she got married. This is really examined in the way he valued her opinion. When he found she dislike his parties, he stopped throwing them altogether. Because everything he did, he did for Daisy, to win her back. So he is also a very dedicated man, even if a little extremely.

I noticed that there were a lot of uses of symbolism in this novel. Almost anything could be seen as a symbol here, the strongest of which being the green light situated at the end of the Buchanan’s dock. Gatsby looks upon this soft light at night from across the bay. It represents his hopes and dreams, and he associates it with Daisy. Nick then later compares this idea with the thought of how the America must have looked like to the early settlers. So this green light, in a way, also represents the broader idea of the American dream.

The Great Gatsby definitely deserves to be a classic novel, because, despite the numerous errors in the book, it captures an essence of America. Is it just me, or do these summer novels have a lot common?